Page 2 - Wheat

Cold snap helps India's wheat crop but warm weather forecasts pose risk

A long cold spell helped wheat during its vegetative growth, but a rise in temperatures, expected in the next few days, could impact the crop during the crucial grain formation stage

No proposal to lift export curbs on wheat, rice, sugar, says Piyush Goyal

Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday said there is no proposal before the government as of now to lift export curbs on wheat, rice and sugar. He also said the country will not import wheat and sugar. "There is no proposal as of now to remove export restrictions on wheat, rice and sugar. And India will not import wheat and sugar," Goyal told reporters. India had banned wheat exports in May 2022, non-basmati rice exports from July 2023 and extended curbs on sugar exports beyond October 2023, as part of measures to control rising domestic prices.

Printing 'date of mfg', 'sale price' on packaged items mandatory from Jan 1

Printing the 'date of manufacturing' and 'unit sale price' has become mandatory on all packaged commodities effective from Monday, according to Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh. Earlier, companies were given the option to either print the 'date of manufacturing' or 'date of import' or date of packaging on the packaged commodities. Now, companies have been mandated to print only the 'date of manufacturing', along with the 'unit sale price', as per the latest notification issued by the Consumer Affairs Ministry. "Since packaged items are sold in different quantities, it is important that consumers are aware about the 'unit sale price' of what is packed and make an informed purchase decision," the consumer affairs secretary told PTI. Printing the date of manufacturing will help consumers know how old the packaged item is and help them make conscious purchase decisions. Similarly, the printing of unit sale price will make it easy for consumers to ascertain the cost in unit

Wheat sowing improved, acreage nears last year's level; chana still down

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest weather update said that till January 4 there is no possibility of major cold wave in any part of the country

'Wheat sown in 30.86 mn HA, climate resilient seeds planted in 60% area'

After facing loss due to terminal heatwave last year, more farmers are cultivating climate resilient wheat varieties which has been sown in more than 60 per cent of the planted area of 30.86 million hectares so far, according to agriculture commissioner P K Singh. Wheat is the main rabi (winter) crop, sowing of which normally begins in November and harvesting is done from March-April. As per the agriculture ministry data, wheat sown area stood at 30.86 million hectares till December 22 of the ongoing rabi season, slightly lower than 31.44 million hectares in the year-ago period. "This is because there was a delay in wheat sowing in some parts where paddy harvesting got late. Otherwise, wheat sowing is progressing well," Singh told PTI. Keeping in mind the terminal heat problem that wheat farmers faced last year, the government this year has promoted climate resilient wheat varieties and kept a target to cover 60 per cent of the total cropped area, he said. "We have exceeded the ta

Wheat sowing tops normal acreage for first time, gram continues to drag

Govt allows import of edible oil, masur at nil duty till March 2025

'Indian agri trade curbs to cut exports by $4 bn, Red Sea attacks a risk'

The world's second-largest producer of wheat, rice and sugar, India has restricted exports of these commodities to rein in rising domestic prices

Agriculture exports likely to reach $53 bn in FY24: Commerce ministry

India's agriculture exports this fiscal are expected to reach the last year's level of USD 53 billion despite restrictions imposed on shipments of certain key commodities, including rice, wheat and sugar, according to a senior government official. In 2022-23, the country's agri exports stood at USD 53 billion. "We expect that we would reach that level in spite of USD 4.5 billion-USD 5 billion impact due to the restrictions," Additional Secretary in the commerce ministry Rajesh Agrawal told reporters here on Thursday. The government has prohibited exports of wheat and non-basmati white rice and has imposed curbs on sugar exports. He said the government is promoting exports of new products like bananas and value-added millet products to new global destinations. "In the next three years, we are hoping to increase banana exports to USD 1 billion," he said. Exports of fruits and vegetables, cereals, meat, dairy and poultry products registered a healthy growth rate during ...

Per-acre expenditure cost of wheat, rice should be reduced: Nitin Gadkari

"In our country, the per-acre expenditure is more. So firstly, we need to reduce our per-acre expenditure cost," Gadkari said while addressing the Millionaire Farmer of India Awards 2023

Congress slams wheat policy, says poor suffering due to PM's 'showmanship'

The Congress on Tuesday attacked the Centre over its policy on wheat export and import, alleging that due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "showmanship", the poor people have suffered. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a media report on X which claimed that India may allow import of Russian wheat to mitigate the rising domestic wheat prices ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. In a post in Hindi on X, Ramesh said, "Last year, to shore up his image, the Prime Minister had claimed that India is capable of feeding the world. He gave free rein to export of wheat." "Then wheat crisis occurred in our own country. By the end of 2022, wheat stocks reached a 15-year low. When the situation worsened, exports were banned. Now there is news that the government is considering importing wheat," the Congress leader said. Meanwhile, the prices of wheat products, including flour, in the country increased by 50 per cent, he claimed. Ramesh said there have also been reports of rice being giv

Govt permits NCEL to export 900k tonnes rice, 35k tonnes wheat products

National Cooperative Exports Ltd (NCEL) has been allowed to export nearly 9 lakh tonnes of broken rice and about 35,000 tonnes of wheat and wheat products to various countries. According to a recent gazette notification, the government has permitted export of 34,736 tonne of wheat and wheat products and 8,98,804 tonnes of broken rice. Of the total wheat and wheat products export, NCEL has been allowed to export 15,226 tonnes of maida/semolina, 14,184 tonnes of wheat grain, 5,326 tonnes of wheat flour and 48,804 tonnes of broken rice to Bhutan this year. In case of broken rice, the cooperative has been permitted to export 5 lakh tonnes of the grain to Senegal and 50,000 tonnes to Gambia in six month, the notification said. NCEL has been allowed to export about 2 lakh tonnes of broken rice to Indonesia and 1 lakh tonnes to Mali. India otherwise has banned wheat and broken exports since last year as a measure to check domestic inflation. However, some exports are allowed on a ...

Wheat sowing still tad down; mustard acreage more than last year

While the acreage drop in Bihar could be due to delayed harvest of paddy, the fall in area in Rajasthan as compared to last year might be due to reporting delays because of polls

Winter in India may be less severe this year due to El Nino, says IMD

India's avg max and min temperatures in November third highest since 1901

Govt allows export of certain amount of wheat, broken rice to 5 countries

The government has permitted exports of specified quantities of wheat, wheat flour and broken rice to five countries, including Bhutan, Mali and Indonesia, a notification said on Thursday. The quantity notified for Bhutan includes 14,184 tonnes of wheat grain, 5,326 tonnes of atta, 15.226 tonnes of maida/semoline, and 48,804 tonnes of broken rice. Broken rice shipments are also permitted to Mali (1 lakh tonnes), Senegal (5 lakh tonnes in six months), Gambia (50,000 tonnes in six months), and Indonesia (2 lakh tonnes). The export is permitted through National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL), the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification. NCEL is a company set up with cooperative societies as its promoters. Though exports of wheat and broken rice were banned to boost domestic supply, outbound shipments are allowed on the basis of permission granted by the government to certain countries to meet their food security needs and on request. "Export of (wheat

Wheat sowing down 5% so far in ongoing rabi season at 8.6 mn hectares

Area under coverage for wheat has fallen 5 per cent to 86.02 lakh hectares so far in the ongoing rabi (winter-sown) season, according to the agriculture ministry data. The sowing area of wheat stood at 91.02 lakh hectares in the same period last year. "About 86.02 lakh hectares area coverage has been reported compared to 91.02 lakh hectare during the corresponding period of last year. Thus 5.01 lakh hectare less area has been covered compared to last year," the ministry said. Area under coverage for wheat is so far lower in Uttar Pradesh (3.87 lakh hectares), Punjab (2.28 lakh hectares), Haryana (2.14 lakh hectares) and Gujarat (0.71 lakh hectares). The higher wheat area is reported mainly from Madhya Pradesh (3.44 lakh hectare) and Rajasthan (0.68 lakh hectare). The government has banned exports of wheat and is offloading wheat in the open market from its buffer stock to boost domestic supply and control retail prices of wheat and atta (wheat flour). As per the data, paddy acrea

Govt sells 284,000 tonnes of wheat, 5,830 tonnes of rice from buffer stock

The government on Thursday said it has sold 2.84 lakh tonnes of wheat and 5,830 tonnes of rice from its buffer stock to 2,334 bidders through an e-auction as part of efforts to control retail prices by offloading food grains in the open market. In an official statement, the food ministry said that the 21st e-auction was held on November 15, wherein 3 lakh tonnes of wheat and 1.79 lakh tonnes of rice were offered under Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) Domestic. The ministry said that 2.84 lakh tonnes of wheat along with 5,830 tonnes of rice were sold to 2,334 bidders. As part of the central government initiative for market intervention to control the retail price of rice, wheat and atta, weekly e-auctions of both wheat and rice are conducted by the government. The Food Corporation of India, the government's nodal agency for procurement and distribution of food grains, is offloading wheat from its buffer stock under OMSS. The ministry said the weighted average selling price was Rs ...

Wheat sowing continues to remain below par, might pick up pace after Diwali

Some traders also felt that sowing will pick up pace after Diwali and in the final analysis, the total acreage across India might be around the normal wheat acreage of around 31 million hectares

Minister flags off 100 vans for sale of 'Bharat' Atta at Rs 27.50/kg

Bharat Atta will be distributed by NCCF, NAFED, physical outlets of Kendriya Bhandar and also be made available at other cooperative and retail stores

Wheat sowing falls as UP sugarcane farmers yet to clear kharif crop fields

Traders in UP said the initial wheat sowing is down this year due to a delay in sugarcane harvesting. The farmers are waiting to clear their fields of the kharif crop

Govt hikes wheat MSP by Rs 150 per quintal to Rs 2,275 for 2024-25

Ahead of assembly polls in key wheat growing states, the government on Wednesday announced an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat by Rs 150 to Rs 2,275 per quintal for the 2024-25 marketing season. This is the highest increase by the Narendra Modi-led government since it came to power in 2014. A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Modi. Currently, the MSP on wheat stands at Rs 2,125 per quintal for the 2023-24 marketing season (April-March). Briefing media, I&B minister Anurag Thakur said the CCEA has approved the increase in the MSP for all mandated rabi crops for 2024-25 marketing season. "Based on the CACP recommendation, we have increased the MSP of six rabi crops. Wheat MSP has been increased by Rs 150 per quintal," he said. The support price of wheat has been increased to Rs 2,275 per cent quintal for 2024-25 marketing season, from Rs 2,125 per quintal in 2023-24, he